College tuition may steeply rise next year

College Search & Selection
21

<p>
[quote]
If this money dried up and people had to pay out of pocket for the most part, tuition would fall through the floor.

[/quote]
For this to be true, colleges must be enormously profitable institutions right now that are socking away all those extra tuition dollars they've conned their students into paying. In fact, many are breaking even or losing money. At many schools tuition doesn't come close to covering the full operating costs of the U, and they rely on gov't and private research grants to fill the void. The huge endowments you read about are the result of private fundraising, not hoarding tuition dollars.
[quote]
Obama's plans carry very fundamental flaws. The problem with college is not that the price is too high, rather it is the fact that it is to easy to get a college loan. With the government subsidizing everything in education, including student loans, many more applicants have the purchasing power required to pay $40,000 , $50,000 , and even more per year. With the government giving away cheap loans, almost anyone can take advantage of this and take out enormous debt in the effort to pay schools.

[/quote]
I have no idea what bleedblue is talking about here, and I suspect he doesn't either. All that Obama has proposed is a $4K grant for most college students in the form of a fully refundable tax credit. See Barack</a> Obama and Joe Biden: The Change We Need | Education If there's some other "plans" riddled with "fundamental flaws" he knows about other than this, post the link!</p>

<p>And as for "drying up" the availability of loans and grants to poor and middle income people, that would mean only the wealthiest in this country would be able to send their kids to even their state school, let alone a private. An outcome, I suspect, that would suit some people in this country just fine.</p>

22

<p>"Fair enough, but what percentage of people without any college
education are millionaires?"</p>

<p>I don't know. Perhaps their survey didn't measure that. John Maudlin's
survey does break down educational attainment in a fine-grained way
so results should be available when his book comes out. It also asks
whether the person attended a public or private high school and a
public or private college.</p>

<p>"And how does the median income of those without any college stack up
against the median income of those with a college degree?"</p>

<p>I think that you would have to weigh median income against four to six
years of opportunity cost, the cost of college (whether you, the state,
an endowment or scholarship paid) and the lost income for those years.
And also the benefits of an inflationary environment and a secular bull
market. Deflationary environments do occur, sometimes for very long
periods of time. We haven't had one in a while but that does color the
costs of debt over the long haul when salaries are net falling. When
you have deflation, who loses less, the person with the expensive house
or the person with the cheap house?</p>

<p>"There will always be outliers, of course, but the sheer fact that
according to your own statistics 80% of millionaires have college
degrees when only a little over 20% of the nation's adult population
have college degrees suggests that your odds of becoming a millionaire
dramatically if you do have a college degree."</p>

<p>Well, this ignores the question of whether it is the person, the
degree, the family or the level of luck which determines a
millionaire.</p>

<p>"Of course, relatively few of us will ever become millionaires,"</p>

<p>The statistic that I saw in the 1990s was one in 140 households. So
they are pretty common.</p>

<p>"college degree or not---and for most of us that's not even the
goal. Most of us will be clustered around the median income for our
respective demographic, but according to the US Census the median
income for college graduates is nearly double that for those with high
school only."</p>

<p>Yes, but you have a selection problem inherent in those statistics and
they ignore all of the costs in getting a college education.</p>

<p>Believe me, I know firsthand that you don't need a degree to become a
millionaire.</p>

<p>And I know of three billionaires off the top of my head without college
degrees.</p>

23

<p>my generation is getting ****ed over. Well, maybe not as bad as my grandparents had it(yet), but you boomers are lucky, you'll be leaving when things really start to get ugly...</p>

24

<p>Noiceee, bring on some more good news please. :(</p>

25

<p>With a prepaid college tuition plan, as the schools raise tuition, all you say is "more power to them" as the return on your investment runs equal to the exhorbitant increases. Prepaid tuition plans have blown away the stock market the last ten years and provide peace of mind.</p>

26

<p>I'll be starting school next fall, and my tuition (out of pocket) is only $5200/year in state (not including state and federal aid--state aid reduces it to $2500 and we'll see what federal aid will do).</p>

<p>Last year, tuition rose something like 8 percent. </p>

<p>In 2005, it was only $1800 BEFORE state/federal aide </p>

<p>Something tells me that I'll be lucky if I pay less than $6500 next year. Tuition has risen here at a rate of 8-11 percent since 2005. </p>

<p>Yikes . . .</p>

27

<p>Maybe USA wudnt now be the most attractive option for foreign students now...people will soon turn to europe</p>

28

<p>actress said--

[quote]
Even with simple jobs many, many, many places require you to have a degree of some type before you even think about applying there.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>the following article, just published, confirms actress' point, on the value of a college degree.</p>

<p>How</a> Much Is That College Degree Really Worth? - US News and World Report</p>

<p>my basic question is :</p>

<p>how can college tuition 'rise steeply' (see OP) after it has already been rising so steeply for the last 10-15 years, and has out stepped inflation/typical cost of living for everyday folks during those years? As the little boy said of the homicidal maniac in [italics]The Night of the Hunter[/italics],
[quote]
Does he ever sleep?

[/quote]
</p>

29

<p>I think, with BCEagle91, that we are arguing with people who believe in the secular religion of colleges and universities. That's the nature of folks who inhabit this site.
I am ready to believe the argument that the proportion of young people in unpaid work attending college (an opportunity cost) is far too high, and that belief that success is only likely to occur to those that function within the educational system is destructive of human potential. People in India inherited their caste system. Do we want to establish one in the United States? I thought we fought a revolution with the Brits over this stuff.</p>

30

<p>One thing about the Millionaire survey is that they generally think highly of the college degree and the college degree is a high priority for their children. But in the case of their children, there isn't a high opportunity cost because parents are footing the bill and the financial and other pressures won't be there to distract. I assume that there will be supports in place to ensure that the student gets through college in an efficient way.</p>

<p>That said, there are other routes to wealth or just happiness without wealth.</p>

<p>The US News and World Report didn't factor in those that didn't get the degree, and those that went into big debt and didn't get the degree. I've read salary surveys that said that those with associates degrees do better than those that have attended four-year colleges but didn't graduate.</p>

31

<p>There's nothing wrong obviously with being a plumber, or other labor intensive jobs. But, I have a feeling most plumbers didn't go to college, because they didn't have the opportunity somehow, and not because they enjoyed doing plumbing. </p>

<p>There's lots of jobs out there that don't require 4 year college degrees that pay just as well as those that require college degrees (especially those in the healthcare industry) or even better. But in my opinion, this cost benefit analysis for short term gains is rather shortsighted, if you are an ambitious person. College is not just about getting a job.</p>

32

<p>"There's nothing wrong obviously with being a plumber, or other labor intensive jobs. But, I have a feeling most plumbers didn't go to college, because they didn't have the opportunity somehow, and not because they enjoyed doing plumbing."</p>

<p>The impression that I have of those in the trades is that they picked it up from a relative, perhaps in their mid-teens, and then just continued in the trade as it felt fairly natural to do. I think that those in the trades that are very successful (college expenses are not a problem) want their kids to get a degree.</p>

<p>I had a look at a jobs display at a local McDonalds several months ago and at some levels, they have tuition reimbursement. I recall seeing a sign on the top of one of their stores with manager-trainees starting in the $30s which is comparable to starting salaries for some humanities majors. The display had jobs going up to six figures + car.</p>

<p>Tuition reimbursement used to be quite wide-spread two to three decades ago so you could get a job, even a very low-end job, and go to college part-time. For many, this may be a good route to a degree while earning a living and getting the tuition paid for with money that hasn't been taxed.</p>

<p>In the 1990s, this benefit seemed to fizzle. It may have been due to tax code changes.</p>

<p>I recall a lot of indecision on the benefit in the mid-1990s but didn't follow the matter after that. I think that a decent tax credit for companies for this benefit would be a much better idea than student loans. The employer typically requires a B in courses for reimbursement so there is some oversight on course performance and they'll only pay for tuition, fees, books and maybe parking so you can't go out and get yourself way overboard in debt.</p>

33

<p>In light of this discussion of the uses of a college education, let me include one of the favorite quotes that I have seen on this forum (and anywhere). It seems to be from a point of view that is less a tangible cost-benefit ...</p>

<p>
[quote]
I always liked this quote by Robert Heinlein:
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

[/quote]
</p>

<p>the thread this came from tries to answer the question of what true education is...
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/509589-retrospection-person-not-educated-who-has-not-learned-2.html?highlight=specialization+insects%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/509589-retrospection-person-not-educated-who-has-not-learned-2.html?highlight=specialization+insects&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

34

<p>My personal opinion, but I think everyone should go to college if they have the opportunity to. It doesn't have to be some fancy private university. A community college down the street can be just as good. I live right next to a very good community college and while it isn't where I want to go, I still think it's a great school.</p>

<p>I'm not financially savvy and I won't pretend to be, so here's my question. If tuition increases, will better financial aid packages be given too?</p>

35

<p>idic5,
wonderful quote!</p>

36

<p>Hi,
This forum is very useful for students, thanks</p>

<p>Shareefa</p>

<p>SreeVysh</a> Corp</p>

37

<p>Hi Buddy's... I think u all are college students... In our life. College is the best part.And each and every students can't able to forget the college memory. With friends cutting the classes. </p>

<h2>In tea stall keeping account. And 1\2 tea glasses.In class room galatas... hum mm... remember your college day's.Your eyes will cry..... </h2>

<p>Aslam</p>

<p>Blaze</a> Infotech</p>

38

<p>This is just a sucky time for me to be looking at colleges... the mini-baby-boom kids all born around 1990 flooding admissions offices and rising tuition, combined with a screwed up economy.. :( makes me want to stay in high school a bit longer (just kidding, death would be better than eight years of high school)</p>

39

<p>With the economy so bad and tuition costs rising every year going to community college and transferring in two years is looking better and better.
But I know that's not an option for me...=/</p>

40

<p>what is up!</p>